By Natalie Carter
It has begun! There are people going crazy with Holiday cheer and you know what? Good on them. It is the holiday season after all. For most people, the holiday season tends to mean excess. Drinking, eating and sleeping. So to help you avoid turning into a Christmas pud this holiday season, I’ve complied some handy tips for you to follow:
Be prepared! Fail to plan, plan to fail. If you have 3 parties or several dinners and relatives to visit in one day, plan ahead what you will eat. Eat smaller portions of everything. Do not go without, especially at Christmas/holiday time but eat mindfully and try to eat slowly. Stick to meats/fish and salads vs stodgy potatoes and puddings. For dessert, go for low sugar fruit, custard or pavlova. A great choice is also skipping the dessert platters altogether and having a small cheese plate with some nuts.
This goes for alcohol too. A bottle of wine contains a minimum of 600 calories. That is almost half a day’s food intake! Crazy! And don’t forget alcohol affects you negatively for up to 48hrs (depression, decreased testosterone-not good for weight loss, and increases your appetite). Try soda water and wine (spritzer), light beer or vodka, soda and fresh lime to reduce alcohol intake and lower calories all-round.
There’s nothing worse than feeling exhausted when the party season hits. Keep your routine as best you can. Exercise and try to keep your body in it’s natural circadian rhythm. Listen to your body. If you are tired, rather than over-simulate yourself with caffeine, have a nap or listen to some relaxing music in your favourite chair. Remember it’s holiday time, you want to be energised rather than the bore of the party.
Lastly get out and get active. What a perfect time to start a fitness regime. This can finally be the time that you get your life and body sorted. Here are some easy ways to get in your exercise without the need to have loads of equipment or your sports gear with you:
1. Get the old fashioned game of backyard cricket happening this Christmas. Running around the garden for an hour will burn the calories in a 3 glasses of red wine.
2. Combining 30 minutes of leisurely swimming in the pool with some step ups (in and out of the pool onto a step), arm pulls (underneath the water) plus holding on to the side and kicking your legs whilst on your stomach; will see you burn off that Christmas ham (approx 200g). Do each exercise for 1 min and repeat 5 times.
3. Even jumping on the trampoline, table tennis & playing frisbee will rid your body of excess Christmas cheer. For every hour of those activites you will burn off the caloires in a 50g fruit mince pie.
4. If you are away on holidays you don’t have to pack your workout gear. Simply include lots of water sports (kayaking, surfing and paddleboarding) into your day and you can enjoy a cockatil, or two, guilt free.
5. Drink lots of water: Especially during the holiday season we can fall victim to dehydration (sun and surf get in the way!). If you’re thirsty you tend to eat more. Sometimes we forget to drink water regularly and our body mistakes that for hunger. So sip often, monitor your thirst and you’ll prevent excessive eating through dehydration. Always keep a water bottle handy.
Remember all good things do come to an end but if you exericise (pardon the pun) control over the Holiday period you will have less hard work to get back into when you return. Stick as closely to your usual exercise plan as possible and all that hard work won’t be lost.
Happy Holidays Everyone and bring on the fabulousness that will be 2012.
Stay awesome until next time,
Nat.
